compression

(in internal-combustion engines) the reduction in volume and increase of pressure of the air or combustible mixture in the cylinder prior to ignition, produced by the motion of the piston toward the cylinder head after intake.

5.

Also called data compression. Computers. reduction of the storage space required for data by changing its format.

A force that tends to shorten or squeeze something, decreasing its volume.

The degree to which a substance has decreased in size (in volume, length, or some other dimension) after being or while being subject to stress. See also strain.

The re-encoding of data (usually the binary data used by computers) into a form that uses fewer bits of information than the original data. Compression is often used to speed the transmission of data such as text or visual images, or to minimize the memory resources needed to store such data.